Maldives has reached a significant milestone, with 1.5 million tourists visiting the country thus far this year.
According to the Tourism Ministry, the number of tourists reached 1.5 million on Saturday. With this figure, the number of tourists arriving in Maldives so far this year is up 13.4 percent -- 177,404 -- over the same period last year.
Russia maintains its top position as the largest tourism market for Maldives, followed by India, which has climbed from third place to secure the second spot. China is the largest source market for tourists.
Top 10 countries contributing to Maldives' tourism are:
Russia - 172,472 tourists
India - 163,513 tourists
China - 163,036 tourists
United Kingdom - 121,166 tourists
Germany - 105,000 tourists
Italy - 89,725 tourists
United States - 58,695 tourists
France - 40,500 tourists
Spain - 32,286 tourists
Switzerland - 29,255 tourists
The government initially set a target of 1.8 million tourists this year. However, the new target is to attract 1.9 million tourists by the end of this year, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said in July this year.
